Hero Arthur and his party succeeded in defeating the Demon King.

The evil Demon King’s army, which had plunged the continent into terror for nearly ten years, had finally fallen. As soon as the news of the Demon King’s destruction and Hero Arthur’s party’s victory spread, the empire was completely immersed in a festive atmosphere.

Every street in the imperial capital was filled with flower petals scattered by the citizens, leaving no room to step, and from midday, people clinked glasses to celebrate the victory.

The orchestra played their instruments with such enthusiasm as if determined to leave no quiet place in the streets, and the bards created and sang songs of the heroes.

Naturally, ‘Eddie’s Inn,’ located in the very center of the capital in a prime location, was also a tavern on the first floor, as is typical of fantasy clichés, so from midday, drunks clinked glasses to celebrate the victory.

“For Hero Arthur!”

“For Wizard Boram!”

“For Augustine of Divine Power!”

“For His Majesty the Emperor!”

Those who had made a boisterous toast, including the names of Hero’s party and even the Emperor, gulped down cool beer and wiped their mouths with a “Kyah!” sound.

“So, when is Hero’s party expected to return to the empire?”

“It usually takes two to three months to get from the Demon King’s Castle to the empire… Even though many bases have been destroyed, wouldn’t it take about a month if they repeatedly teleport?”

“The return of the heroes! It’ll be a festival for a while.”

It was a historic battle that determined the fate of the continent, no, humanity. Hero’s party had won, and humans had survived. Until Hero’s party returned, the empire would continue to be in a festive mood, and when Hero’s party returned, a full-fledged parade and festival would begin.

The men, already excited even though the snacks hadn’t come out yet, emptied their beer glasses and began to chatter excitedly while ordering more.

“Did you hear? Holy Sword Albatross was destroyed after fulfilling its role during the war.”

“That’s really a shame.”

“I know, right? I wanted to see it in person.”

“If it had been intact, it would have remained in the Imperial Museum as a historic masterpiece for generations.”

At their regretful voices, Eddie, the owner of the inn, who was diligently wiping glasses inside the bar, muttered inwardly.

‘It’s perfectly fine. In the first place, the sword’s owner was Ketron, not Arthur, so there’s no way Arthur would have it.’

Of course, the men, who couldn’t have heard his inner thoughts, continued to chatter.

“Hero Arthur is going to have a grand wedding with Saintess Laila, isn’t he?”

“Of course! They promised to get married if they defeated the Demon King in the first place.”

‘That never happened. In the first place, Laila liked Ketron more… Although Ketron didn’t seem to think much of it.’

Eddie grumbled inwardly once again.

“Did you hear that the Emperor announced that he would grant Hero Arthur a countship?”

“A tremendous success story from a commoner. The nobles are in an uproar.”

“They’re making a fuss because he’s being given a countship when they thought he’d only be given a baronetcy at best. They say they’re submitting memorials every day, saying things like ‘dirty blood.'”

“If it weren’t for Hero’s party, they would have all been killed by the Demon King’s army! How can they say such things!”

Around that time, Eddie let out a long, deep sigh.

“…This is too much to bear.”

That’s why it’s tiring to know all the intimate details. To have to just watch Arthur monopolize all that glory.

How annoying.

Eddie placed the glass he had been meaninglessly wiping on the cupboard. Gerold, who had been enthusiastically cooking in the inner kitchen, poked his head out at a good time.

“Eddie, ‘that dish’ is ready.”

“Really? Thanks for your hard work.”

“No, as always, all I had to do was boil it. If you can stand the spiciness, that is.”

Gerold wrinkled his nose. It seemed no exaggeration as he couldn’t help but cough lightly.

“Shall I go?”

“I’ll do it this time.”

Eddie chuckled and received the pot containing ‘that dish’ from Gerold.

Eddie carried the pot and went outside the bar. Eddie, who had been striding through the men who had been saying things he didn’t like, albeit unintentionally, placed the pot on their table with a thud.

The men, who had been chatting excitedly, were surprised once by the sudden appearance of the innkeeper, and twice by the intense spicy smell they had never smelled before in their lives, and their nostrils twitched.

“Wh-what is it, innkeeper? Suddenly.”

“What on earth is this all red?”

Eddie replied with an indifferent face.

“Didn’t you ask me to bring you anything that would be good as a snack?”

“Well, yes…”

He had vaguely ordered something like that when he came in. But he expected a fruit platter or fried fish, not noodles, and especially not such intensely spicy food that even smelling it was frightening.

Besides… isn’t this a completely new dish?

Looking around at the stunned expressions of the drunks, the innkeeper, Eddie, smiled brightly.

“It’s our inn’s special menu.”

“Special menu? Did you have something like that here?”

It didn’t exist until a few days ago. Eddie’s Inn was terrible as both a restaurant and a tavern, and the only items on the menu were French fries, fried fish, a fruit platter, and beer. It was just endlessly clean and had a good location, so customers came and went, but no one expected the quality of the snacks.

No, in the first place, there was no way that an inn that was only mentioned once in the original story would have a special menu.

This was a new menu item that Eddie’s Inn had recently put on the menu. It was certain that it was a dish that probably didn’t exist in the empire until now and never would in the future.

“What’s this called?”

The men showed curiosity about the food they were seeing for the first time, even while sending suspicious glances at the intense smell. It looked very spicy, but the glossy noodles looked quite appetizing.

I’ve got you now, you guys. Eddie smiled brightly, hiding his wicked intentions, and replied.

“It’s Fire Chicken Noodle.”

Eddie… or rather, the man who was called Lee Jeong-hoon in his previous life, possessed the innkeeper in a fantasy novel that he had enjoyed reading but was frustrated with the ending.

“Crazy.”

The absurdity he felt when he first opened his eyes in the inn room and checked the mirror.

Brilliant silver hair and mysterious purple eyes. The face of the man, who looked like he had a story to tell, was handsome, but it was quite different from the familiar face that Lee Jeong-hoon had seen for over twenty years.

At this level, he would have been a huge success as a model or an actor or something. A face that would earn him millions just by keeping his mouth shut.

But sadly, there was no way he could use that great face as an actor or model in this world. Because this was a damn fantasy world with an Emperor and wizards.

The novel he possessed, <The Hero Doesn’t Hide His Power Too Well>, had a title typical of recent fantasy novels, but unlike such titles, the contents were classic, traditional fantasy.

‘Well, well?’

There were some scenes that made him chuckle while reading, but he still enjoyed it quite a bit throughout.

Lee Jeong-hoon was the owner of a small, quiet convenience store in the corner of an apartment complex that didn’t have many customers in the morning.

It was a small convenience store with nothing to do when there were no deliveries, so he often spent time lightly reading fantasy novels, and the novel he read just before possessing was this novel.

The Hero Doesn’t Hide His Power Too Well.

As the title suggests, it was a novel where the hero didn’t hide his power.

And the hero mentioned here was not Hero Arthur, who was currently being praised by the imperial citizens.

Hero Ketron.

Ketron, who was chosen by the Holy Sword and became a hero at a young age, met his companions, the swordsman Arthur, the wizard Boram, and Augustine of Divine Power, on his adventure, and gathered a party to defeat the Demon King’s army. He grew through various incidents, and in the end, he defeated the Demon King and became a hero of the continent.

Up to this point, it was a very excellent cliché growth story.

However, the author must have been a person who was crazy about twists.

‘Huh?’

Just before defeating the Demon King, the author twisted the story greatly. In order to defeat the Demon King, they had to overlay a powerful magic that erased the Demon King’s existence on his Holy Sword, Albatross, but as a side effect of the powerful magic, even the existence of the person who used the Holy Sword would be erased.

In other words, everyone in the world would forget Hero Ketron.

[I’ll be holding back the Demon King’s forces, so you guys hurry up and cast the magic!]

While Augustine of Divine Power, despite being seriously injured, stepped forward to block the Demon King’s army outside the Demon King’s Castle, Ketron, Arthur, and Boram were casting magic on the Holy Sword.

[Don’t worry, Ketron! Even if everyone in the world forgets, we’ll remember you!]

[Yes, we’ll definitely find you!]

Arthur and Boram said solemnly, and Ketron nodded.

Ketron, who had imbued the Holy Sword with magic, rushed at the Demon King, and after a long battle, Ketron finally succeeded in plunging the Holy Sword into the Demon King’s heart.

It was the hero’s victory.

And the grand ending.

Originally, even if the hero Ketron was forgotten—even Augustine, who was blocking the Demon King’s army outside, forgot Ketron—Arthur and Boram would remember his existence, so they should go find him and return the glory as a hero to Ketron, but.

Arthur didn’t do that.

He took all of Ketron’s accomplishments as a hero as his own.

He said that the Holy Sword that Ketron had was lost during the battle with the Demon King, and he went around boasting that he was the one who had killed the Demon King, as well as the executives of the Demon King’s army that Ketron had defeated so far.

Arthur, who was a fairly skilled swordsman but had never been chosen by the Holy Sword and didn’t even have the ability to defeat the Demon King, instantly became a hero of the continent.

Wizard Boram also didn’t look for Ketron. She remained silent about Arthur acting like a hero and stayed by Arthur’s side. Augustine, who had lost his memory like the others, didn’t feel anything strange and returned with Hero Arthur.

Hero Ketron was, thus, forgotten.

‘Are you fucking kidding me?’

When Lee Jeong-hoon read that part, there were only about 20 pages left. There were too few pages for Ketron to regain his glory and for Arthur to get fucked over. Besides, it was the final volume!

But as if he didn’t intend to end it with an ending where the hero was forgotten and evil prevailed, at the moment of the ending, the hero Ketron, suffering from injuries, starvation, and the shock of being betrayed, slumped down in front of an inn, shedding tears.

And at the last moment, as if possessed by evil, Ketron vowed to destroy everything in the world and glared with his eyes, and the novel ended.

[The Hero Doesn’t Hide His Power Too Well fin.]

‘…’

Lee Jeong-hoon meaninglessly tapped the next page, which didn’t light up.

[This is the last page.]

[This is the last page.]

Of course, it was nothing more than a meaningless struggle.

‘…Where does the author live?’

He had enjoyed it for a few days, but to put out such a crazy ending at the end! Lee Jeong-hoon, who was pacing around the convenience store like a roaring Godzilla, was only able to let go of <The Hero Doesn’t Hide His Power Too Well> after confirming on SNS that the author had no plans for a second part or a side story.

‘Haaa.’

Feeling a deep sense of emptiness from the frustrating ending, he was organizing the convenience store items when he heard the sound of the convenience store door ringing.

‘Welcome.’

Jeong-hoon reflexively greeted him, but soon saw the man, who had deeply pulled down his shabby hood, suddenly approaching him. He vividly remembered thinking, since it was a convenience store in the corner of an apartment complex, it was ultimately a neighborhood business, so this was the first time seeing a customer at this hour.

That was his last memory.

He suddenly felt a burning pain in his abdomen, and before he could even properly think that it was insanely painful, everything went dark.

When he opened his eyes, he was possessing Eddie, the owner of “Eddie’s Inn,” located in the central square of the capital of the Reneba Empire.

‘This is insane.’

And the Reneba Empire was the country that served as the setting for the novel he had been reading right up until then, “The Hero Doesn’t Hide His Strength Too Much.”

By Zephyria

Hello, I'm Zephyria, an avid BL reader^^ I post AI/Machine assisted translation. Mostly BL. Check my Ko-fi for more HSA chapters~

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